Prince may have suffered from a serious illness, but we shouldn't dig any further

Christina is a reporter based in Boise, Idaho. She's a veteran vegetarian, a political junkie and a huge grammar snob. On the weekends, she can usually be found binging on Netflix, playing the piano or petting her cats, Daisy and Dandelion.

Prince deserves to have his privacy respected, even after his death

And while it's natural for distraught fans to want to know what caused the seemingly early death of Prince, who seemed healthy — he was performing just last week — some of the digging seems to be going a little too far.

There are plenty of theories popping up online, from a drug overdose to a serious mystery illness. But here's the thing: If Prince had a drug problem or any kind of illness, he didn't tell his fans. That means he didn't want them to know then, and he probably wouldn't want them to know now. Even after his death, he deserves to have his privacy respected.

As news outlets post transcripts of the 911 call that reported his death, pictures of Prince at the pharmacy days earlier, rumors of his hospitalization for an alleged recent drug overdose and quotes from anonymous family friends who claim he was battling sickness, I can't help but imagine how difficult it must be for Prince's family and friends — those who were actually close to him and involved in his personal life — to have to watch the world speculate about what scandalous reason there might have been for his death. The fact that he's gone is painful enough — why does it need to become clickbait?

Prince is scheduled for an autopsy today, and we trust that those who loved Prince will do right by him first and his fans second, releasing whatever information they see fit to release. It may not be exactly what some fans want, but if it's what Prince would want, that should be good enough.